Season on Brink After Loss in El Paso

El Paso Chihuahuas – 6

Oklahoma City Dodgers – 2

Friday, Sept. 23, 2022 – Southwest University Park – El Paso, Texas

Game Summary: The El Paso Chihuahuas scored six runs within the first two innings and Oklahoma City Dodgers could not recover thereafter during a 6-2 loss Friday night at Southwest University Park. The Chihuahuas (83-62) have now won each of the last three games in the series and can clinch the PCL East Division over the Dodgers (80-65) with one win in the next two games. El Paso scored one run in the first inning, but the Dodgers escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out to keep it 1-0. However, the Chihuahuas cranked two home runs in the second inning, totaling five runs. Brandon Dixon hit a three-run homer and C.J. Hinojosa later hit a two-run shot to make it 6-0. Jason Martin hit his league-leading 32nd home run of the season in the fifth inning to put the Dodgers on the board. Hunter Feduccia added a home run in the seventh inning trim El Paso’s lead to 6-2. After the second inning, the OKC pitching staff did not allow a run or a hit, but the deficit was too large to overcome for a Dodgers offense that was held to two runs and five hits for a second straight game.

Of Note:

-With Friday’s loss, the Dodgers are 3.0 games behind El Paso for first place in the PCL East Division standings with two games remaining in the current head-to-head series and five games remaining in the regular season. El Paso leads the season series, 13-12, with wins in three straight and in six of the last seven meetings in El Paso. With a win Saturday or Sunday, the Chihuahuas will own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Dodgers and thus will clinch the division title. The 3.0 game deficit is the furthest the Dodgers have been out of first place all season.

-For the second consecutive game, the Dodgers were limited to two runs and five hits. Between Thursday and Friday, the Dodgers scored a total of four runs while batting .161 (10-for-52), with three of the four runs scoring on solo homers. The Dodgers went 2-for-10 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position Friday. Entering Thursday, the Dodgers had scored at least six runs and notched at least 11 hits in six straight games. During the six-game stretch, they batted .341 with 79 hits, 64 runs, 34 extra-base hits and 17 home runs…Friday marked the 10th time in 20 games this month the Dodgers scored three or fewer runs.

-The Dodgers homered in a ninth straight game (21 HR), tying their season-long streak initially set June 11-21. They have 26 homers over the last 12 games after hitting just two homers through the first nine games of September. However, the Dodgers also allowed a home run for a 13th straight game (19 HR), with El Paso’s two home runs accounting for five of their six runs.

-Jason Martin went 2-for-4 with a double and his league-leading 32nd home run of the season. Martin has now hit the most home runs by an OKC player during the Dodgers affiliation (since 2015) and the most by any OKC player since Mike Hessman hit 35 home runs in 2012. His 106 RBI also pace the PCL and stands as a OKC single-season record during the Bricktown era (since 1998).

-Hunter Feduccia hit his seventh home run with Oklahoma City and 15th home run overall of the season. Feduccia has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, going 11-for-33 with six extra-base hits. He has four extra-base hits in his last three games, picking up two homers and two doubles.

-Relief pitcher Yency Almonte made the second appearance of his Major League Rehab Assignment. Almonte retired the side in order in the sixth inning on just seven pitches, all strikes. He induced two pop outs and recorded one strikeout.

-Outfielder Kevin Pillar also continued a Major League Rehab Assignment, going 0-for-4. He is now 1-for-8 over his first two games.

What’s Next: The Dodgers seek to avoid elimination Saturday night beginning at 7:35 p.m. Central time in El Paso. Live radio coverage of each OKC Dodgers game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM 1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps. All OKC Dodgers games are also available streamed live on MiLB.TV with a subscription.

Video Highlights: Video highlights of today’s game are available at the Pacific Coast League FTP site, pclhighlights.exavault.com, in the El Paso folder. The proper files will reflect today’s date, and are accompanied by a text file containing a brief description of the content available.